1st DISTRICT

 

​Rodney Govens

Democratic

U.S. House, Arkansas 1

 

1.         WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS THAT CONGRESS CAN HELP TO REDUCE THE ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION OF BUILDINGS TO HELP MAKE THEM MORE SUSTAINABLE?

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My wife and I bought our home in 2018. We put solar panels on our home in 2020. We were lucky to be in a position to afford such an upgrade. If we can incentivize more households to transition to solar and alternative power methods, while also incentivizing housing developers to build solar and alternative power up front with their development projects, we will see a lift economically and a reduction in consumption.

 

2. WHICH SUSTAINABLE BUILDING POLICIES DO YOU SUPPORT AND WOULD WORK TO ENACT IF ELECTED?

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a. Set benchmarking requirements for commercial buildings and encourage cities and states to adopt performance-based standards for buildings

b. Provide rebates to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements

c. Provide incentives to states and localities to adopt the most up-to-date energy building codes

d. Renew and expand tax incentives for energy efficient buildings

f. Provide support to states and localities to make buildings more resilient from natural hazards and disasters

h. Conduct research into the most promising technologies, products and materials that improve occupant health and reduce transmission of contagious disease while saving energy

i. Support programs or incentives to accelerate the electrification of buildings.

 

 

3.         IF ELECTED, WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO ENSURE THAT ALL AMERICANS, REGARDLESS OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ARE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS?

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All government subsidized, low income housing must be powered by solar at this point. This will reduce costs, footprints, etc. In order to speed this along and ensure that all Americans can take advantage of this, we need to subsidize and invest in residential homeowners more so than commercial and corporate interests.

 

4.         IF ELECTED, WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO TRAIN AND PREPARE PEOPLE FOR CLEAN ENERGY JOBS THAT ADVANCE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS AND BUILDING COMPONENTS?

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This will require partnerships with renewable energy companies and we are prepared to do so. In similar fashion, we will partner with the IBEW union shops and ensure that we get existing professionals transitioned with efficient and equitable training programs and schools.

 

5.         ARE YOU WILLING TO WORK WITH THE BUILDING SECTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT TRANSFORMING BUILDINGS IS PART OF THE POLICY DEBATE IN CONGRESS, INCLUDING JOINING CAUCUSES THAT ADVOCATE FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING POLICIES? IF YES, HOW WILL YOU DO THAT?

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Yes. The only way to ensure that we enact sensible legislation is to partner with the experts in the fields and the building sector expertise is going to be needed. I plan on hosting various leaders and subject matter experts in order to gain knowledge and critique any proposals from Congress to ensure we are headed on the right path, rather than simply allow corporate dollars and big money to control the resulting legislation.

 

6.         DO YOU HAVE ANY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS (E.G., SUPPORTING LEGISLATION IN ELECTED OFFICE, MADE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS TO A HOME, OFFICE, COMMUNITY-WIDE, ETC.)?

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I partnered with SunPro to bring solar panels to my neighborhood as the first person to get them. Since 2020, we have enjoyed a low (at times non-existent) energy bill from First Electric Cooperative and I look forward to introducing standby generators or batteries in the near future.